The fact that the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has canceled her controversial institutional trip to Mexico halfway through has an unforeseen consequence: the conservative politician will not be present this Saturday, early Sunday morning in Spain, at the Platino Film Awards gala, which the Community of Madrid has sponsored with 450,120.00 euros and where she was scheduled to give a speech. This is detailed on the regional contracting portal, which includes an agreement reflecting all kinds of details (including the presence of the regional logo on the red carpet), as well as a warning: “Any change or modification in the development of the event must be previously communicated to the Community of Madrid, which reserves the right to proceed with the termination of the contract and withdraw its sponsorship, with restitution of any amounts received if applicable.” Initially, the president’s intervention was not explicitly reflected.
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“The celebration of the Platino Awards represents an opportunity to showcase to the great talents of the film industry the possibilities of the Community of Madrid as a destination for filming and thus enable film tourism, as well as serve as a promotional platform for the Community of Madrid before a community of potential visitors from more than 23 Latin American countries,” justifies the regional administration in the sponsorship contract. “The PLATINO awards have been held alternately between Madrid and Xcaret in the Riviera Maya (Mexico),” it is recalled. And it is assured: “The last gala held in Madrid in 2025 had an advertising impact of 350 million dollars with coverage on websites and social media, press, radio, and TV, which meant a 34% increase, being an event followed in more than 170 countries. Likewise, the last edition held in Xcaret in 2024 had an advertising impact of more than 261 million dollars.”
These figures, which are mere estimates by the administration, justify the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports, led by Mariano de Paco, spending almost half a million euros on sponsorship. But not only that. The Community considered that the gala at the Xcaret theme park, in the Riviera Maya, would serve to promote Madrid as a tourist destination and host of the 2027 edition of the awards. And for this reason, it had meticulously detailed the presence of the regional brand during the current edition.
Thus, the Community of Madrid logo must be present on the photocalls of the press conferences, the red carpet, and on all communication and advertising media, as well as promotional and marketing actions that promote the Community of Madrid. Likewise, according to the contract, “this impact will also be reflected through the opening or closing idents (TNT), the mention of the Community of Madrid as a sponsor of the Gala, an acting during the ceremony related to the Community of Madrid, and the projection of a promotional tourism video.”
In principle, all these commitments can be fulfilled without the presence of the president of the Community of Madrid at the film gala.
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However, after Ayuso’s controversial trip to the American country, each of these live actions promoting the Community of Madrid will represent an opportunity for the public to express their opinion about the regional president’s visit. Because the gala will be held marked by its narrative about the Conquest, a sensitive issue in the country and in relations with Spain, after Mexico demanded accountability from the Monarchy for abuses committed during that period. Ayuso has insisted on vindicating the figure of Hernán Cortés with a tribute in the Mexican capital, and the response from the Mexican left has been forceful.
In fact, the president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has responded to Ayuso on several occasions from the National Palace. A controversy that culminated in Xcaret, the powerful consortium that hosts the Platino Awards gala in one of its hotel complexes, requesting the awards organizers to withdraw Ayuso’s invitation due to the “unfortunate statements” of the representative of the Community of Madrid.
This is not the first time a regional government sponsorship has gone awry. Last year, the Community and the Madrid City Council committed to paying almost 400,000 euros to promote Madrid in the final stage of the Vuelta a España, which ended up being suspended due to protests over the presence of a team sponsored by Israel. Now, one thing is certain: on this occasion, the Community of Madrid brand has ended up in the eye of the storm.
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